desertification

the rapid depletion of plant life and the loss of topsoil at desert boundaries and in semiarid regions, usually caused by a combination of drought and the overexploitation of grasses and other vegetation by people.

noun

a process by which fertile land turns into barren land or desert

n.

1973, from desert (n.1) + -fication. In French, désertisation is attested from 1968.

The transformation of land once suitable for agriculture into desert. Desertification can result from climate change or from human practices such as deforestation and overgrazing.